Friday, July 3, 2009, 11:11 pm

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Sharpton, Joyner, Baisden and Hughes sucker Black Radio

Written By: Paul Porter 03 Jun 2009

It is time that broadcasters start telling the truth. The recent flood of one sided information by radio on the pending "HR 848 - Performance Rights Act" is uncovering a much larger problem. The First Amendment calls for "Freedom of Speech", but unfortunately broadcasters continue to feed misinformation to millions of Americans, without a murmur of opposing opinion.

Radio One, Founder Cathy Hughes has rediscovered her microphone after a ten year hiatus. While shaping the Performance Rights Act as an end to Black Radio, Hughes and her staff have done a great job of concealing the facts.

In a series of PSA annoucements, Hughes has framed HR 848 as the end of Black radio. Broadcasters, in this difficult economy have not allowed advertising dollars to be spent by denying air time to supporters of this Bill.

In Detroit, on Tuesday, Congressman John Conyers held a hearing on HR 848 at Wayne State University. While Joyner, Baisden and Hughes have continued to deliver blatant lies on air, the forum was the perfect situation to finally hear both sides.

Although invitations were extended to the entire broadcast community, only one representative stepped up to the mic. Rev. Al Sharpton, who's syndicated Radio One show airs nationwide, presented his side and left without listening to the audience that pays his check.

Sharpton, on his show later that day only mentioned the forum as "one-sided" and failed to mention any of the stories shared by a short list of living legends, Dionne Warwick, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Sam Moore, Duke Fakir, George Clinton and writer performer Rhymefest informed those in attendance of the simple facts on why performers should be paid for radio airplay.

Maybe if Sharpton, Baisden, Hughes or Joyner stop talking they might take the time to listen to some alarming facts.

*Performers are paid in over 30 countries, for radio airplay. Only the U.S., China, Iran and North Korea do not pay performers for radio airplay.

*Performers are paid for television, satellite radio, cable stations and Internet radio but not paid for terrestial (AM & FM) radio airplay.

*An additional $70 to $100 million will be paid to American artists for airplay from foreign countries.

What Black Radio is not telling you:

*Urban radio continues to be the most syndicated music format. While limiting voices and local issues, Black adults are 25 times more likely to hear syndication than Whites. Eliminating the messengers, by limiting the voices.

*Radio One, the nation's largest African American broadcaster, has cut staff and 401k benefits for staffers, while awarding CEO Alfred Liggins a 10 million dollar bonus.

*Radio consistently makes millions from the recording industry, requiring Free promotions, Free product and Free performances that get charged back to the artist bottom line.

No matter what the color of radio ownership -- serving local audiences with better music, information and content is the key to thriving business model. American radio must finally catch up with the rest of the free world and pay performers their just do.

It is time that radio broadcasters allow audiences to hear both sides of this important issue.

Paul Porter

www.IndustryEars.com

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Is it HR 848 or Black radio?

Written By: Paul Porter 20 May 2009

Is it really HR 848 or Black Radio?

Once again the big media machine is working, while Congressional lawmakers are being besieged with lobbyist and broadcaster rhetoric, the truth is being diverted by Black radio about the Performance Rights Act, HR 848. Founder and Chairman of Radio One, Cathy Hughes recently made her opposition public on the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show. Joyner, who broadcasts to millions of listeners in over 100 markets, once again demonstrated that information to people of color is often one sided. Hughes, framed the conversation as if the pending legislation would put an end to black radio, while Joyner failed to ask his business partner the tough questions. Millions of listeners were fooled into believing HR 848 was the certain end of Black radio. The truth is Black radio is it's own worst enemy.

"The Performance Rights Act" was the creation of John Conyers, the Michigan Democrat who for decades has backed the effort to win performers and artists royalties for their radio-played works. Conyers, believes it is finally time to establish equity for recording artists and allow them to be paid fair compensation for their creativity.

For decades, radio has profited from airplay, free promotions, and concerts in a pay for play situation, often leaving artist penniless while turning their backs on local audiences that they are licensed to serve. Black radio has been the testing ground for syndication for close to twenty years. Black listeners are 20 times more likely to hear syndicated programming then whites. Syndication, unknowingly has limited the voices and opinions, while condensing the play-list and stifiling local news and information.

Black radio for decades was the only voice in local communities, it's been replaced with a share holder mentality reacting only to revenue and not listeners. If Black radio fails, it's not HR 848, it's simply failing to serve the local communities they are licensed to serve.

So the next time you hear black radio framing an issue, make sure you question the source.

Paul Porter
Industry Ears


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Pew Research Study on Obama Coverage

Written By: Paul Porter 26 Apr 2009

April 22, 2009
Fox News Stands Out as "Too Critical" of Obama
No One Network Singled Out as Too Easy

Summary of Findings
When Americans are asked to assess television news coverage of Barack Obama, Fox News Channel stands out from other networks for being too critical of the president. Nearly three-in-ten (29%) select Fox when asked which of six broadcast and cable news networks have been too critical of the new Democratic president, a far greater share than any other network.

In contrast, no one TV network is singled out for being too easy on Obama. Each of five networks (CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC and CBS) was named by about one in six respondents in this regard. Again, the Fox News Network stands apart – just 5% named Fox as being too easy on the president.

The latest weekly News Interest Index survey, conducted April 17-20 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, finds a substantial partisan divide in views of how TV news networks cover Obama. More than four-in-ten Democrats (44%) say Fox has been too critical of Obama, compared with 25% of independents and just 18% of Republicans. No other network comes close to Fox, though 11% overall – including 18% of Democrats – say CNN has been too critical of the president. Very few Americans cite the broadcast networks – ABC (4%), NBC (4%) or CBS (3%) – as too critical.


In the survey, no one network is particularly identified as too easy on Obama. That is despite the view of many media watchers that, among the cable stations, MSNBC’s prime time lineup tilts to the left, while Fox’s leans conservative. Some 16% of Americans identify MSNBC as too easy on Obama, the same percentage that cites CNN. Among Republicans, one quarter (25%) says MSNBC is too easy on Obama; about as many say the same about CNN and each of the broadcast networks.

The impression that there is a pro-Obama bias to media coverage is widespread among Republicans – a majority identifies at least one network as being too easy on Obama, and a quarter feels that at least five of the six major networks – if not all of them – are too easy on Obama. This criticism is cast evenly across all networks except Fox News.

While many Americans see one or more networks as too critical or too easy on Obama, just more than half make no such distinctions. When it comes to being too critical, 53% either say that none of the networks is guilty, or offer no opinion. The same is true when it comes to whether any of the networks is too easy on Obama.

In a separate question on the media in general, the public sees coverage of the first months of the Obama administration as fair. Two thirds (66%) say the news organizations they follow are being fair to the new president, while 18% say they are being unfair. More than seven-in-ten (72%) Republicans say the coverage has been fair, compared with 66% of Democrats and 67% of independents.

Those who say they see the coverage as unfair – including 23% of Democrats, 16% of independents and 12% of Republicans – were asked to explain their answers. Among the common responses were that the media was expecting too much too quickly, that it was being too negative and critical and that Obama was getting blamed for steps taken by past administrations.

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Notoriously Overrated: What Was so Big about Biggie Smalls?

Written By: Paul Porter 08 Jan 2009

Notoriously Overrated:
What Was so Big about Biggie Smalls?

Minister Paul Scott

There's a new movie coming out called "Notorious." It's the story of a black kid who grew up on the mean city streets, became a Black Panther and dedicated his life to stopping police brutality and trying to organize street gangs into a revolutionary political movement. The story ends with him being murdered in his bed by the police as he slept next to his pregnant fiancee.

My bad, that was the Fred Hampton story. Wrong screenplay...

"Notorious" is about the life of a drug dealer turned rapper who released a CD, got into a beef with another rapper and was shot on the streets of LA while leaving an after party. The end.

If you ask any Hip Hop fan who are the greatest rappers of all time, dead or alive, he will, most likely, put Christopher "Notorious BIG" Wallace in the top five. Any omission of "Biggie Smalls" is considered Hip Hop blasphemy. Even highly educated college professors have made a career out of quoting Wallace's lyrics like "The 10 Crack Commandments" as if they were part of some sacred text. Even today, if you go to any Hip Hop clothing store in any city in America you can still buy the T-Shirt of The Notorious BIG with the crown on his head for 20 bucks.

However, as it is with most American icons, we never take a minute to ask, at the end of the day, what was this person's overall contribution to society that made him worthy of the accolades that we bestow upon him, posthumously.

The tragic story of the Notorious BIG is the cornerstone of the Hip Hop catechism and has been the subject of so many books, documentaries and magazine articles that I am not sure how much more light the film "Notorious" can shed on his life. I guess that the movie company, Fox Searchlight, is banking on the possibility that thousands of loyal Hip Hop fans will be willing to put down $8 a head just to pay homage to their dearly departed idol, even in the midst of a major Recession.

But the question remains, what makes a person like Christopher Wallace still relevant a decade after his death when many of our leaders who sacrificed their lives for black people are forgotten soon after their casket drops?

Most Hip Hop heads can run down in their sleep how Wallace sold drugs in Brooklyn, signed with Bad Boy, married Faith Evans and discovered Lil Kim. Who doesn't know about his infamous beef with Tupac Shakur during the mid 90's that had black folks debating who had the best rappers, the East or West Coast, during the same period when right wing conservatives were debating how to take away the few rights that black folks had.

Many of the faithful still get teary eyed when they recall the night that "Big" was murdered, a tragedy that made a black record label owner rich and a whole lot of multi-national white businessmen, richer.

Very few Hip Hop aficionados will debate the fact that many consider Wallace's first release, "Ready to Die," a Hip Hop classic. But one would be hard pressed to find anything even remotely political or intellectually, insightful in any of the lyrics on his CD's where every thing he rapped about could have taken place within a one mile radius of his own block. Besides tales of black on black homicide and suicidal thoughts based on either self hatred or major depression, there is little else to justify any of his work being held in the same light as a " It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" or "The Score."

Talid Kweli once rapped about how we have the uncanny ability to find beauty in the hideous. In the case of Biggie's lyrics, we also try to find depth in the shallow.

Maybe the reason lies within our "mis" educational system. We are trained since elementary school to accept what the text books teach us as the absolute, unadulterated truth. If the book says that Christopher Columbus "discovered" America, then Christopher Columbus discovered America. So as we get older, if a Hip Hop magazine says that Christopher Wallace was the greatest of all time , than Biggie Smalls was the illest. No questions asked.

Perhaps we just have a fascination with death. Especially the deaths of other black folks. I know people who can't start their day without checking the newspaper to see who got shot the night before. We also have the tendency to elevate people in death to levels that they would have never achieved in life.

In ancient Egyptian culture, when a pharaoh died he was worshiped as a god. So when rappers die violently, they are transformed into gods of war, leading their followers on a quest to seek revenge against all those that had beef with them when they were alive.

Holly'hood has also capitalized off of our necrophilia as, for the last 15 years, the plot of black men getting tragically caught up in the streets has been the theme of too many movies to name. No one wants to admit that although they say art imitates life, in the hood , life imitates art as the death of Christopher Wallace only helped to desensitize a generation of young black men to the finality of death. And with the upcoming release of "Notorious," we see that we still have not learned our lesson.

Sadly, although the Notorious BIG became even more famous beyond the grave, for the young brothers who followed in his footsteps, the only fame they received was a 15 second news flash on Channel 9.

Back in the day Kurtis Blow said that there were 8 million stories in the naked city. Unfortunately, most of our stories end the same way . No happily- ever- after. No pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Just black blood being spilled on city streets.

I guess the BIG man was right when he said that "You're nobody till somebody kills you."


Paul Scott, the Hip Hop TRUTH Minista, writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com

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KROQ CBS Radio Airs Obama Hate Song

Written By: Paul Porter 11 Dec 2008

CBS Radio is at it again! KROQ 106.7 rocker in Los Angeles, aired the following stunt during their morning show.


Industry Ears has reached out to CBS brass for action. Earlier this year WYSP, CBS Radio owned rocker in Philly, aired content that mirrored the hate speech used against Obama in LA.

The Philly morning host and Program Director were both quickly fired. Detail to come.

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MSNBC Scarborough Drops the F Word

Written By: Paul Porter 11 Nov 2008



Should networks be forced to use a time delay?

CNN: Breaking the Jokes with D.L. Hughley

Written By: Lisa Fager 09 Nov 2008

Ok, the Election is over; I have exhaled... a little.

It's Saturday night and I'm attempting - after three previous tries - to watch a episode of the new show on CNN: D. L. Hughley Breaks the News. While I like D.L. as a comedian, something just doesn't sit well with me as I watch the show. After all the media coverage on the events leading up to the first Black Democratic presidential nominee, CNN decides it needs a "comedy" show on the "most trusted name in news" network? Is this decision really trustworthy? I mean, seriously, who decided that people want to see a funny man on a “serious” news channel? Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert conduct their business in an appropriate place - on Comedy Central. Wouldn't DL be more appreciated (and funnier) on TBS?

It's even more insulting to me as a media activist because I know how few African American-oriented news programs are out there. And to have
CNN and Turner executives choose a comedian as the host of their first
African American-targeted news show (with an actual marketing budget, I might add) really calls into question their motto as the “most trusted names in news".

Ironically, during commercial breaks we are still expected to digest serious news given "seriously" by the anchors of CNN – Most Trusted
Names in News team and then go right back to comedy! The show is out of place and Turner Broadcasting can easily fix it. Turner owns TBS (very funny). Transfer the show to the TBS late night slot and market his program on CNN! Cross-promote here and there and then hire a "real" journalist, thinker, or news anchor type to cover serious news from Black perspectives.

If CNN continues such careless thinking, the joke may very well end up on them.

CNN Goes BET With DL Hughley

Written By: Paul Porter 27 Oct 2008

CNN: Breaking The News?

While America is close to electing it's first African American to it's highest office, television news is still stuck in a "Jim Crow" state of mind.

CNN, over the weekend debuted "DL Hughley: Breaks The News", the only
African American hosted cable news program. Hughley, reverted back to
his early BET "Comic View"days, lacking the intellectual clarity he
often displays on Bill Maher or even recent CNN appearances. DL's material
was immensely stereo typical, but calculated programming that continues
to stifle mainstream media perceptions. CNN's attempt of a Flava Flav
style of African American entertainment is an alarming step backward for a
respected news organization.

It's easy to point the not funny finger at DL Hughley but the real story
is who's behind the camera. While this election cycle has shown a diverse collection of analyst and pundits, media ownership and equity of power in television and radio are far from equitable.

While people of color make up 33% of the American population, less than
7% are owners and even fewer are in decision making positions. Yes,
there are plenty of Black anchors and reporters on cable and network
news but the content they report continually falls short. Perception has replaced reality, millions of Americans are yearning for more, while receiving less.

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Bill O'Reilly talk radio
programs reach more audience in a WEEK, then all Black talk radio stations
reach in a YEAR. Fair and balanced? Of course not, 98% of African American radio stations cater only to beats and bling, with an emphasis on entertainment, not news.

CNN's look at "Black in America" in July sparked much needed discussion,
leaving an open door for continued substance with huge ratings. Hughley's show, simply mirrored the ratings strapped BET, Viacom's inept step child that consistently comes under fire from the African Americans they are suppose to serve.

The odds look good for Barack Obama to make history as America's first
African American President, but don't hold your breath if your waiting
for one informative African American cable news show.

Paul Porter

www.IndustryEars.com

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Armstrong Williams: Black Radio?

Written By: Paul Porter 23 Sep 2008

What happened to Black radio? For decades Black radio was a source for
information and community. The corporate climate has changed for black
radio effectively dismantling it's once constructive voice with a
disproportionate mix of syndication for black adults and negative hip
hop for children and young adults.

Talk radio for White Americans continues to dominate the radio dials.
Conservative talk continues to power political perceptions led by Rush
Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Bill O'Reilly.

Black talk radio continues to be limited to low powered signals with
limited budgets. Limbaugh's salary alone is more than the budgets for
every Black talk radio station in America.

WPGC AM in DC, is a prime example of what's wrong with Black radio.
After a recent format flip to talk, TALK 1580 hired conservative pundit
Armstrong Williams. Williams, who is Black is best known for fraudently
promoting the Bush administrations "No Child Left Behind" agenda.
Williams accepted 240k and promoted in black face the plan that critics
claim that has taken inner city schools to new lows.

On Monday afternoon I was a guest on Armstrong Williams syndicated show
to discuss the negative affects of media impacting Black America. I
shared the comments of MSNBC conservative analyst Pat Buchanan
verbatim:

"First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It
was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships,
grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian
salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity
blacks have ever known.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white
Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the 60s on welfare,
food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student
loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty
programs designed to bring the African-American community into the
mainstream."

Buchanan's comments obscure the fact that African Americans and their
allies have had to fight for whatever freedoms have been gained. The
many programs he mentions have helped ALL AMERICANS, especially European
Americans.

Armstrong's reaction to the Buchanan quotes were clear. Our interview
segment abruptly ended just like the voices in Black radio.

Paul Porter

Industry Ears


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RNC Convention Out of Touch?

Written By: Paul Porter 04 Sep 2008

Experience or judgment? Republican or Democrat? We have seen the snow
tossed by both sides by an array of analyst and media pundits. The only
words that truly matter are those of the candidates and the parties that
support them.

Last night the RNC, shoved an elite foot at the heart of millions of
Americans. While most media missed it former New York, Mayor Rudy
Giuliani nailed it during his keynote:

"On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy
League education. He worked as a community organizer. What? He worked
— I said — I said, OK, OK, maybe this is the first problem on the
resume. He worked as a community organizer. "

Giuliani's comments were applauded by the GOP. For some strange reason
"community organizer" is viewed as a negative but a "church organizer"
is lauded. But in thousands of communities across the nation, community
not government is the only source of help.

I guess a "hockey mom" is in and according to Governor Palin she also
deemed "community organizer" as irresponsible last night.

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer,"
except that you have actual responsibilities".

There are thousands of organizers that continue to work to build some of
the most neglected parts of this country. It would be nice if the RNC,
respected and applauded them.


Paul Porter

Industry Ears

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